A comprehensive strategic plan is demanded for the tourism industry’s recovery

Statement by AKEL MP Kostas Kosta following the examination of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism’s budget at the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee

15 November 2021

We reiterated today as well to the Deputy Minister of Tourism that from the very first moment the tourism industry’s crisis due to the pandemic, we as a Party have tried to contribute to tackling it.

That is why on 19/5/2020, we made public our package of proposals for dealing with the situation, a serious and comprehensive study of all the facts, which was submitted to the President of the Republic and to him in person.

Our proposal was based on the promotion of Cyprus as a safe destination with regards to the response to covid 19, by protecting citizen’s health from the transfer of the virus to the country by tourists coming through airports, ports and marinas and the promotion of domestic tourism, with incentives primarily for social tourism.

We have also today expressed to the Deputy Minister our deep concern about the situation, which is seriously affecting the country’s economy, with dramatic chain effects. A comprehensive strategic plan is needed immediately for Cypriot tourism to recover in the coming summer tourist season.

Tourism is the main pillar of our country’s economy, which is why we, as AKEL, have carried out an overall study with numerous proposals covering the entire spectrum of tourist activity. We hope that even belatedly these proposals will be now be used by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism to help in the elaboration of a truly innovative reform of the tourist sector.

As regards the course of implementation of the new National Tourism Strategy 2030, we have reiterated today that as AKEL, we will monitor very closely the implementation of the National Tourism Strategy and especially the actions included in it, and that we will not hesitate to stop actions when their funding is due to be approved by Parliament, if we consider they are detrimental to the economy, the environment or serve any powerful interests.

The pandemic may have seriously affected the tourism sector, but the Deputy Ministry must try to upgrade our tourism product and solve serious problems facing the sector, which we as a Party have been calling for years, such as:

– the issue of seasonality by extending the tourist season from October to April,

– the development of alternative forms of tourism and promotion of sustainable tourism, in addition to the traditional mass tourism that we attract for the ‘sun and sea’ approach,

– the problem of our island’s accessibility and in particular the number of available airline seats after the closure by the Anastasiades government of ‘Cyprus Airways’ and the collapse of COBALT airlines,

– the attraction of tourists from other markets and not only from Britain – Russia,

– the extension of the successful electronic visa pre-authorisation mechanism,

– the restriction of the all-inclusive system,

– the stamping out of profiteering and illegal actions,

– the reduction of the very high fees at our airports.

– the creation of new staff training projects for the needs of our tourism industry, but also the strengthening of existing projects and sectors, since the need for qualified staff is constantly growing due to the significant increase in beds, with the construction of new large hotels,

– the preparation and submission to Parliament as soon as possible of draft bills and regulations that will modernise all legislation on tourism,

In addition to the above, we reiterated our concerns about the registration procedure of self-service accommodation in the register of the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, stressing that owners of self-service accommodation cannot be registered in the register. When we passed the law we made it clear that registration procedures should be simple, ensure health and safety issues and not exclude owners from registering for bureaucratic reasons.

Finally, we reiterated to the Deputy Minister of Tourism our opposition to the huge increase in license and classification fees for hotels and tourist accommodations as a result of the decree issued by the Minister of Commerce.

As AKEL, we have not only been warning for a long time, nor do we simply engage in criticism when this is demanded. We have put forward specific proposals and opinions. We are willing to help and have demonstrated this many times in the relevant Parliamentary Committee, with prudence and consensus and far from SERVING any expediency.

However, much needs to be done, which the government should have done long ago. What is needed is radical transformations and change, a vision and determination and, above all, proper planning.